Iraqi forces retake Al Baghdadi from Islamic State

KAHN AL BAGHDADI, Iraq, March 6 (UPI) -- Iraqi forces and tribal fighters pushed Islamic State fighters out of Kahn Al Baghdadi, taking control of the city for the first time since September.

Iraqi fighters cleared IS militants from the police station and three Euphrates River bridges, U.S. Central Command said Friday.

IS -- which is also identified by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL -- took control of the city in September in a major campaign to expanded its presence across Iraq and Syria.

Coalition forces also helped retake seven villages northwest of Al Baghdadi on the road to Hadithah with 26 airstrikes from Feb. 22 through Friday.

"In addition to airstrikes, the coalition supported the operation with surveillance assets and advise and assist teams who provided operational and intelligence assistance to Iraqi Security Force Headquarters Elements, which helped to enable them to successfully conduct the offensive operation," a Centcom news release said.

The "coalition will continue supporting efforts on behalf of all Iraqi security forces and the government of Iraq to attack and defeat ISIL. Iraqi security forces now hold the gains they have made and are postured to retake additional territory from ISIL in the Anbar region."